501 Steakhouse — Restaurant in Jonesboro

Meh. That’s about all I can muster for the modern 501. I moved away years ago and after returning at the beginning of Covid finally tried the 501 again tonight. Big yikes for what I remember once as the go to place in town. Underwhelmed is an understatement. After the host seated us with the supreme indifference only borne of Eastern Europe, everything was just ok. Our waitress was helpful, but that really didn’t help the Sister Schuberts formerly frozen rolls or the Sysco labelled butter packets she brought with them to the table. Sure those are fine, but less than this place promises by reputation or price. Hell, you can get whipped compound butter at some of the local chain joints.

Our seared tuna app was good, with the fish and sear being the stars. Everything else about it was pretty forgettable with the sauce being basically just soy sauce with some green onions thrown in.

We both ordered the weeks special with strip steaks that were supposed to have fried onions on top and a creole sauce and while the sauce was there the onions were basically just onion rings. While that’s technically a friend onion it wasn’t what either of us were expecting, and frankly kind kind of lazy.

That’s really kind of the theme of the whole experience. It’s just lazy. It could be better. It used to be better, and now it’s not. Our steaks were passable though a bit gristly, but good lord the sides were also terrible. Nothing says greatness like an ice cream scoop shaped dollop of flavourless, unseasoned mashed potatoes with 6 sprigs of asparagus, along side a gristly steak with unexpected onion rings on top with a sauce of questionable provenance. The whole thing just screamed sadness, except the waitress. Literally the only thing this place had going for it was that everything was prompt so if you have another place you’d rather be, and dinner is an inconvenience, this is the place to go

This would all be forgivable if not for the fact you can go downtown and eat at Omar’s (conceivably the same owner unless sometthjng has changed) or Roots and get a better experience with better food for about...

Visited for our anniversary and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere inside was beautiful with linen tablecloths, strung lights, and little architectural touches throughout. We started out with the spinach dip served with chips. Very creamy and cheesy and flavorful! We definitely would get again. My husband ordered the Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Alfredo and although it was a bit too spicy for me, he commented that it was probably one of the best pasta dishes he had ever had. It was full of shrimp and chicken and there was enough there that he brought home probably half of it for another meal. I ordered the 16 oz. Hawaiian Ribeye, medium rare. It was probably a little more on the rare side but it was still good for me. When I tell you the flavor was perfect, it is probably up there with Ruth's Chris! This steak was so tender and savory with the buttery teriyaki marinade. It will be difficult for me to try anything else next time I go back.

While all of that was perfect, I also had a couple of sides...the twice baked potato, which was just really average. I needed quite a bit of salt to find any flavor. And then the skillet mushrooms. They were an extra $6 and there were about 5 or 6 in a bowl, not a skillet, and they just lacked like maybe they weren't cooked long enough or something. I will definitely try some different sides when we go back. As for the bread served before and during the meal, who doesn't love a Sister Schubert roll...but also, who wants a Sister Schubert roll when they are going to an upscale Steakhouse? I would much prefer some homemade crusty French bread and feel that would compliment your meals much better than that type of roll...but that's just my opinion.

Overall, we were happy with our visit and will be going back. The service was stellar and I would...

I ate dinner here for Valentine's Day. The atmosphere is a typical mid-to-high end steakhouse atmosphere. There was a live musician singing and playing keyboard covers of love songs. My date and I both ordered medium-rare filets ($30). The steaks were cooked medium-rare and seasoned nicely. The issue was with the steak itself. The filets were not of a quality that I have received from other similarly priced steakhouses. The filet was thin and the meat was not dense like a normal filet. It was as if the integrity of the meat had been compromised during the physical tenderizing process (who knew that you had to physically tenderize a tenderloin?) and the meat was a mushy texture. The asparagus ($4 up-charge for a 1 person side of asparagus) was undercooked. The ends were very stringy and chewy. They probably should have trimmed more of the end off, or cooked it longer. My baked sweet potato had no issues. My date ordered her filet with a bleu cheese topping which was well executed. Her side of goat cheese smashed potatoes ($4 up-charge) was also very good. Her jasmine rice side was dry and under-seasoned though.

I don't mean to be so critical, but when there is another restaurant in town that offers a similarly priced menu (with more creative and inspired choices) and is of much higher quality, it's difficult to not be critical. I've had 2 meals at this other restaurant, one of them also a filet, and it was far better than this. It was nice to give this place a chance, but I'll be attending the other restaurant from this point forward when looking for this...